Many people are surprised to find themselves grieving climate change. They may feel sadness, fear, anger, helplessness, or even guilt — and then wonder if their reaction is “too much” or somehow inappropriate.
In therapy, I often want clients to know this first: grief about the climate is a deeply human response to loss, uncertainty, and threat. It makes sense to feel impacted when the world you love feels at risk.
Below are some gentle, grounded ways to work with climate grief — not to make it disappear, but to help it feel more bearable, meaningful, and integrated.
1. Name What You’re Feeling — Without Minimizing It
Climate grief can show up in many forms:
- Sadness about environmental loss
- Anxiety about the future
- Anger at systems or leadership
- Guilt about personal impact
- A sense of helplessness or despair
Many people tell themselves they shouldn’t feel this way — especially if they are not personally affected by a natural disaster. But grief doesn’t require permission. Your nervous system responds to threat and loss whether or not it is happening directly to you.
Simply naming, “This is grief,” or “This is fear,” can be an important first step in reducing internal shame and isolation.
2. Let the Grief Live in the Body — Not Just the Mind
Climate distress often gets stuck in thinking loops: What if? What’s coming? Why isn’t more being done? While these thoughts are understandable, healing often happens when we also listen to the body.
You might gently ask:
- Where do I feel this grief in my body?
- Is it heavy, tight, numb, restless?
- What happens if I slow down and stay with it for a moment?
Somatic practices — such as mindful breathing, grounding through the senses, or simply placing a hand where the emotion lives — can help the body process what the mind cannot solve.
3. Allow Both Grief and Love to Coexist
Grief about the climate often exists because of deep love for the natural world. Many people forget this part.
You might reflect on:
- What places, creatures, or experiences do I love?
- What am I grieving because it matters to me?
- How has nature supported or shaped me?
Letting love and grief exist together can soften despair and reconnect you to meaning, rather than leaving you alone with fear.
4. Find Connection — You Don’t Have to Carry This Alone
Climate grief can feel isolating, especially if people around you avoid talking about it. But shared grief is often more tolerable than silent grief.
Connection might look like:
- Talking with others who share similar concerns
- Spending intentional time in nature in a reciprocal, respectful way
- Exploring creative expression (art, writing, poetry)
- Working with a therapist who understands grief and nervous system regulation
Healing doesn’t always come from answers — often it comes from being witnessed.
5. The Process of Grieving leads to a deeper connection with what is meaningful
As Janet Childs, the co-founder of the Centre for Living with Dying, often states, “There are two things that make grief hard, feeling out of control and isolation. To move to feeling in control of the grief process rather than being overwhelmed by it, she teaches a four step process of acknowledge, express, act and reconnect.
- Acknowledge everything. When something triggers a feeling of grief, the first step is to acknowledge what is happening.
- Express the feelings and thoughts associated with the loss.
- Take little action steps that help you to make meaning of your loss. We can’t fix or change what is lost, but we can make meaning of our losses. Also, little action steps build hope and resiliency. Wherever you stand in life, you can find something that is meaningful for you in response to the climate crisis. You might start with the question, “How do I want to relate to the world I live in? This practice of reflection allows space for care, reverence, boundaries, and compassion — including compassion for yourself.
- Reconnection is the process of living intentionally.
To address the isolation that makes grief hard, it is important to be in community with other people. Since everyone on the planet is experiencing this climate crisis, there are many opportunities to come together in groups. Recently, a friend of mine started writing poetry with others to express the ineffable magnitude and profound loss she experiences. Another group of people decided to get together each month to simply grieve together.
When Climate Grief Feels Overwhelming
If climate grief begins to interfere with sleep, relationships, or your sense of hope, therapy can offer a supportive space to explore it safely. You don’t need to carry the weight of the world alone.
Climate grief isn’t a sign of weakness — it’s a sign of connection. With support, it can become something that deepens meaning rather than shutting life down.
This post is intended to offer reflection and support, not to replace individualized therapy. If you find yourself struggling, reaching out for professional support can be an important step.